I was faster than BMW factory driver John Edwards

Then he turned 14.

Before he joined us as a multi-talented Road Test Editor, Robin Warner was just a guy trying to make it as a racer, humping it throughout he Skip Barber Formula Dodge National Championship. This is the story of his rivalry with John Edwards, who was just 13 when he squared off with Warner. —Ed.

I was faster than BMW factory driver John Edwards when we raced in Skip Barber's Formula Dodge National Championship. At least, until he turned 14.

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In May 2004, rounds five and six were held at Road America. I knew the track well, Edwards less so. Rain had fallen off and on throughout the weekend, and as we cinched our five-point belts for the final event, heavy clouds rolled into the sky. I qualified well ahead of Edwards, but when the green flag flew, I dropped like a stone.

Fourth became fifth, then sixth, settling on seventh. At the halfway point of the race, mercy shined on me and rain fell, making a once-oily track near diabolical. Many drivers got cautious, some spun. I smiled. At this track, I was fast in the rain and clawed back every lost position to finish fourth. As I pulled into the pits to celebrate, I saw Edwards in my rearview; he took fifth. It was a beautiful moment. With smiles all around, we both celebrated our best FDNC result yet.

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Then our career trajectories diverged. A hopelessly romantic racer in my twenties, I quickly spent all my money, leveraged myself 10 to one, finished poorly at Mosport late in the summer, then crashed at Mont-Tremblant, FDNC's penultimate event—twice—and didn't finish the season. Edwards got the attention of Red Bull, who entered him in their young drivers academy.

I drove home. At just 13 years old, Edwards couldn't do the same.

Red Bull moved Edwards to Europe in 2005 to race in an eminent formula car training ground, Italian National Karts. Later that year, Edwards leapfrogged the now-defunct entry-level Formula BMW series, competing in the Euro Cup Formula Renault series, where he stayed for a full season in 2006. In 2007, Edwards turned 16 and returned to the US to race Formula Atlantics, one step below Champ Car. Despite showing speed and a second-place finish in Toronto, Red Bull dropped Edwards. Without a sponsor or a race seat, Edwards talked with his dad.

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"My dad proposed taking a year off. I told him that's called quitting."

His father made him a final offer: one loan to cover a season of the Star Mazda Championship, any prize money paid towards his new debt. The only other loan Edwards would get would be to cover college. So Edwards took a step down the Champ Car ladder, but he kept racing. And it proved to be a pivotal season.

"Star Mazda was the first year I wasn't racing over my head." Edwards won the championship and a scholarship to race in Atlantics again. This time, he was ready. Now 18 years old, more mature, and taller, Edwards won four races and the championship. Indy Lights should've been next, but the cheapest available ride cost $200,000, and he still carried debt: no deal. Fortunately, Mazda noticed Edwards and funded a Grand Am ride. Racing an RX-8 for Speedsource which eventually led to BMW, the Tudor United SportsCar series, and friendships with Joey Hand and Bill Auberlen. Open-wheel was the original dream, but dreaming the dream and living the dream are two different things. Edwards never looked back.

I look back all the time. That stint as a wannabe pro put me $65,000 in the hole. My credit scores dropped, and after three years of feverishly digging deeper, I finally put the shovel down. Four years later, I paid the last due penny and determined never to do it again. But I still miss it. Racing is a dangerous addiction that provokes enormous pain, both financial and actual, but my God, does it feel good in the moment.

It worked out. After 10 years, Edwards and I wound up in the same place: Road America. BMW wanted to show off the new M3 and M4 and its factory drivers. I met a now-adult John Edwards for the first time. We talked, reminisced, laughed. It felt good to see the kid I raced turn pro, become a fine man and a wicked-quick driver, but most of all, it felt good to remind Edwards that he's never beaten me there.